I see a lot of investors buy good investments, but then they lose tens of thousands because they have no idea how to manage.

I've considered going Dave Ramsey and buying a house with cash and upping my budget to $100k in a smaller market, but that would blow almost all my savings, and $100k just doesn't get you much anymore.

Investment Info:Single-family residence buy & hold investment.

Quote from @Veronica Mitchell: I'm looking to see what are some of the multi-unit in and around Chicago area to buy in? 

Not if you buy 10 at just the right time to hit their sales target.

BiggerPockets also has a calculator to analyze deals, and I highly recommend you start this as soon as possible, even if you are not ready to buy.

I am more inclined to buy new kitchen appliances because of #4, but would not have an issue using nice looking used kitchen appliances.

@David YoungRecommend you first figure out the property Class you want to invest in, THEN figure out the corresponding location to invest in.Property Class will typically dictate the Class of tenant you get, which greatly IMPACTS rental income stability and property maintenance/damage by tenants.If you apply Class A assumptions to a Class B or C purchase, your expectations won’t be met and it may be a financial disaster.If you buy/renovate a property in Class D area to Class A standards, what quality of tenant will you get?

I generally agree that buying SFH as first investment is an easy way to test the waters; however, if you’re set on REI I suggest buying a duplex or quad.

I still have enough room with my VA entitlement for a buy and hold in a couple of years, so I'd rather save it for later!